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Introduction In a significant regulatory shift aimed at reducing procedural delays and compliance burdens on industries, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has amended the Uniform Consent Guidelines issued under India’s core pollution control statutes—the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 . The amendments seek to simplify consent mechanisms, reduce repetitive renewals, introduce private third-party environmental auditors, and consolidate multiple permissions into a single approval framework. While the ministry positions the reforms as efficiency-driven and safeguard-compliant, environmental experts have flagged concerns regarding enforcement capacity and regulatory dilution. Statutory Framework Governing Industrial Environmental Compliance Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 The Air Act empowers State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) to grant Consent to E...

Introduction The Union Government’s indication that it may relax eligibility norms for gig workers under the Code on Social Security, 2020 marks a critical moment in India’s evolving labour law regime. As the gig economy expands rapidly—particularly through food delivery, e-commerce logistics and quick commerce platforms—the challenge before policymakers is to reconcile flexible work models with minimum social protection guarantees . Recent statements by senior officials of the Labour Ministry confirm that the government is actively examining public suggestions on the draft Social Security (Gig and Platform Workers) Rules , including the controversial minimum working-day thresholds for accessing benefits such as health and accident insurance. This article examines the statutory framework , constitutional provisions , and judicial principles relevant to this policy debate. Background: Draft Rules Under the Social Security Code, 2020 The Code on Social Security, 2020 , passed by Parli...